Just a few thoughts about this story on the proposed “£23m increase” in legal aid criminal defence fees, which has been making some headlines. The Ministry of Justice has loudly publicised the agreement struck with the Criminal Bar Association over legal aid rates paid to criminal defence advocates – the story was even towards the…
Read moreGUEST POST: An open letter to The Criminal Bar Association, The South Eastern Circuit and The Bar Council
Below is an open letter published by five junior criminal practitioners in relation to the new Advocates Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS), which for non-lawyers is the scheme for payment of defence advocates in legally aided criminal cases. 19thNovember 2018 We write in relation to a case which has just collapsed at the Crown…
Read moreGuest post by Mukul Chawla QC: Reflections from my years at the independent Bar
I am delighted and honoured to publish this guest post by Mukul Chawla QC. Many readers will know that, after 35 years at the independent Bar blazing trails that leave us mortal practitioners feeling very humbled indeed, Mukul is stepping down as Head of Chambers at Foundry Chambers (formerly 9-12 Bell Yard) for a new beginning in employed practice….
Read moreWhat Lord Hain didn’t consider when he rushed to name Philip Green
A piece for iNews today following Lord Hain’s decision to invoke Parliamentary privilege to name Philip Green in defiance of a court injunction. You can read my musings here.
Read moreThe Ben Stokes trial: what went wrong?
This is one of those posts carrying a title which I genuinely had no intention nor desire to write. It is also, I make plain at the outset, rampant clickbait, as I, like 7 billion other people who were not present for the duration of the court proceedings, am in no position at all to…
Read moreThe meaning of justice
This will be (for now) my last word on the Tommy Robinson appeal. My legal analysis based on the facts as we now know them deals exhaustively and exhaustingly with the law; my reflections at the conclusion of that piece on whether I was too hasty to assume the correctness of the procedure, I stand…
Read moreThe Tommy Robinson judgment – what does it all mean?
Today the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) handed down judgment in the appeal of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson), partially allowing the appeal and directing a rehearing at the Crown Court. What does this mean? Has Tommy been proven innocent? Is this a victory for freedom of speech? Let’s break it down. How did this…
Read moreWhy was a homeless man jailed for pretending to run the London Marathon?
A homeless man who picked up a lost race number and “completed” the London Marathon has been jailed for 16 weeks. Yesterday at Uxbridge magistrates’ court, Stanislaw Skupian (38) was sentenced by magistrates having pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing on 18 May to fraud, after he picked up a race card number dropped by…
Read moreGuest post by James Chalmers and Ryan Whelan: Melanie McDonagh is plain wrong on “upskirting”
I am delighted to host a guest blog by James Chalmers, Regius Professor of Law at the University of Glasgow, and Ryan Whelan, an Associate at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher LLP. Readers may be aware of the events of recent days in relation to the campaign by Gina Martin to create a specific criminal offence to…
Read moreDon’t wear skirts, and nine other ways people can protect themselves from crime
Today marked a milestone in the magnificent campaign by Gina Martin to persuade Parliament to legislate against “upskirting”, the intrusive practice of taking photographs of a person under clothing (usually their skirt) without permission. A Private Member’s Bill to create a specific criminal offence of upskirting was introduced by Wera Hobhouse MP, before being blocked by…
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